Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana — The American South (West South Central)

Arsenal Museum

August 14, 2015

1. Arsenal Museum Marker

Inscription.

Arsenal Museum. . This building, erected c. 1835 as a powder magazine for a U.S. Army Post and Arsenal which used this area from 1810-1885, except in 1861-1862 when held by the Confederacy. In 1962 this building was restored and the museum established.

This building, erected c. 1835 as a powder magazine for a U.S. Army Post and Arsenal which used this area from 1810-1885, except in 1861-1862 when held by the Confederacy. In 1962 this building was restored and the museum established.

Erected 1968 by Louisiana Tourist Development commission.

Location. 30° 27.41′ N, 91° 11.157′ W. Marker is in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in East Baton Rouge Parish. Marker is on State Capitol Drive near North 5th Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Located in Louisiana Veterans Memorial Park. Marker is in this post office area: Baton Rouge LA 70802, United States of America.

Significance: The U.S. Arsenal Powder Magazine at Baton Rouge was constructed between 1836 and 1838 by the United States Army Engineer Department at a cost of $29,432. It is one of only two buildings surviving from the Baton Rouge Arsenal and Ordnance Depot which once garrisoned one infantry regiment, one artillery company, and six cavalry troops. The magazine held 3,000 barrels of powder. American military leaders who served at the post include Zebulon Pike, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses Grant, Wade Hampton, George Armstrong Custer, P.G. T. Beauregard, James Longstreet, George McClellan, Nathan B. Forrest and Zachary Taylor, who was living at the post when he was elected President of the United States. This powder magazine, the third of four magazines built at the post, is located within the boundaries of the Louisiana State Capitol National Historic Landmark, in the east garden of the Capitol grounds. Although excluded specifically in the landmark designation, the magazine building was independently listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The site, overlooking the Mississippi River, had been used for military purposes since 1779 and possibly earlier by the governments of France, England, Spain, West Florida, the United States and the Confederate States. It was the scene of one of the few Revolutionary War battles fought outside the eastern states, the northwest territories or Canada. Other battles fought at this same site include the West Florida Rebellion and the Civil War siege of Baton Rouge. - Historic American Buildings Survey

Credits. This page was last revised on February 12, 2018. This page originally submitted on August 18, 2015. This page has been viewed 330 times since then and 10 times this year. Last updated on February 8, 2018. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 18, 2015. 3, 4. submitted on January 21, 2018, by Kenneth Ramagost of Unknown, Louisiana. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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